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Topic: Christmas Fruitcake XD (Read 1447 times)

Yes, it's June. And I can't stop thinking about the dark, rich, moist, nutty fruitcake that I eat with sharp Cheddar cheese at Christmastime. I've never made one and understand they take months? So for those who have one, share your fruitcake recipes, please! I wanna try. So bad.

MethodPrepare cake tin. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well, adding a little flour if necessary. Mix all prepared fruit with 2 tbsp flour. Sift flour, salt and spice together. Mix fruit into creamed mix, and fold in flour. Add a little brandy if dry. Bake 3½-4 hours @ 150°C/Fan 140°/Gas 2. Pour spirits over when almost cool and still in tin.

That's my grandmother's recipe. Multiply it up by 1.5 for a 10 inch square or 11 inch round tin. Feed it with more alcohol as often as you like, and if you don't like any of the fruit ingredients, substitute an equal weight of some other fruit.

1. Grease tin with butter and line with 2 layers of greaseproof paper inside the tin, and tie double thickness of brown paper outside the tin.

2. Sieve together the flour, salt and spices

3. halve the cherries, and (in a separate bowl from the flour) mix all the dried fruit, the chopped peel, the chopped almonds, and the cherries.

4. In a third bowl beat together the eggs and vanilla essence

5. In your bigest mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until soft and creamy, beat in the egg and flour bit by bit (about 1 spoonful of each at a time, beat in, then add the next spoonful, and so on, until it is all mixed in.)

6. add the fruit and mix in (again, this is easier if you add the fruit a bit at a time and mix as you go.

7. add in the treacle and the brandy. Add more brandy if you like.

8. Pour into the cake tin, then bake in the centre of the oven for about 90 minutes at 335 F then turn down and cook for a further 2 hours at 320. Test using a skewer to make sure it is cooked through.

9. leave for a minimum of 15 minutes before turning it out of the tin.

10. wrap tightly in greaseproof paper and foil and store. During the storage period unwrap it and feed it at intervals. feed by making holes in the top and/or bottom of the cake with a small skewer or large darning needle, and pour a tablespoon of brandy over it. allow this to soak in, then re-wrap. Personally, I feed it from the top and bottom alternately.

Traditionally it is then iced (frosted) by covering with a layer of almond paste (like marzipan) then royal icing on top of that.

As long as you keep the same total quantity you can vary the proportions of the different fruit - I tend to leave out the cherries as no-one in my family likes them much, and add in extra raisins.

My grandmother's recommendation was to bake the cake about 3 months before chirstmas, and to feed it fortnightly. Don't feed it the week before you put the marzipan on, as you want the surface to be dry.

You can bake it further in advance, but in that case, stop feeding it at some point and just store it. We had one which we mislaid and ate the christmas after the one it was baked for.It was stunningly good when we came to eat it. But ensureing that it is carefully wrapped so the packing is airtight is important.

They don't take months to make, but if you want to feed them alcohol on a regular basis, the longer they sit, the better.

I've used three different recipes over the years. The 'pound cake' version (a pound of this, two pounds of that) with macadamia nuts is beautiful, but absolutely massive. It's an overnight or longer soak and all day bake. Last time I made it I had to clean and disinfect the kitchen sink and use that as a mixing bowl.

The 'running late' cake is a boiled fruitcake. The fruit, liquid and sugar are boiled together, before adding the rest of the ingredients. Very moist, but not dark and tangy.

The latest one I make for my housemate, who is diabetic. No added sugar, no eggs, no butter or oils. It's dead simple, quick and easy. It's very tangy and seems rich, but is not particularly dark.

Since I don't have my recipe books with me I can only provide the last recipe. (Well, I did say it was simple!)

I thought about his more today, and realised that I like cream cheese icing, and have no trouble eating cheese and fruit together in a salad, so I don't know why I thought it was so strange. I'll be trying something new at Christmas this year!

Mix the fruit with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup dark rum, juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange and 1/2 cup butter in a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Cool, cover and marinate for at least 24 hours, and up to two days.

Sift together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder, 2 teaspoons each of cinnamon and ginger, and half a teaspoon each of cloves, nutmeg and allspice. Beat the eggs, and mix the eggs, flour, and fruit mixture into a batter.

Stir in 300 g coarsely chopped nuts (I use walnuts and almonds).

Spoon into a pan lined with greased and floured foil. Bake at 160 C / 325 F for an hour (until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Cool, and brush or spritz with more rum. Seal it in a container, and every 2-4 days brush with more rum. Make at least one month before eating. At this point, it will keep for months, even in a humid climate.

This is my go-to recipe. I've used it to convert several fruitcake haters into folks who request it every year. I usually make it the weekend after American Thanksgiving (so the fourth weekend in November) and it's perfect for Christmas Eve.

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